Exo 3:1-10 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Exod 3:1-4:28: 3:1–4:28 This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is divided into two subsections, 3:1–4:17 and 4:18-28 . The first deals with the call itself, while the second addresses the full implications of accepting that call. Moses was not presented with a mere vocational change; he faced an entire reorientation of his life. Summary for Exod 3:1-10: 3:1-10 In these verses, the stage is set for the reorientation of Moses’ life. 3:1 Sinai is the name usually used for the mountain where God later revealed himself in the covenant (see, e.g., 16:1 ; 19:1-2 ). Here and in 17:6 and 33:6 the Hebrew text uses the proper name Horeb. Both names presumably refer to the same mountain, so the NLT consistently uses Sinai.

Summary for Exod 3:1-4:28: 3:1–4:28 ^a This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is divided into two subsections, 3:1–4:17 ^b and 4:18-28 ^c. The first deals with the call itself, while the second addresses the full implications of accepting that call. Moses was not presented with a mere vocational change; he faced an entire reorientation of his life.
Summary for Exod 3:1-10: 3:1-10 ^d In these verses, the stage is set for the reorientation of Moses’ life. 3:1 ^e Sinai is the name usually used for the mountain where God later revealed himself in the covenant (see, e.g., 16:1 ^f; 19:1-2 ^g). Here and in 17:6 ^h and 33:6 ⁱ the Hebrew text uses the proper name Horeb. Both names presumably refer to the same mountain, so the NLT consistently uses Sinai.
3:2 ^j Technically, the angel of the Lord is the Lord’s officially authorized envoy, but the expression may be used more broadly of other visible manifestations of the Lord (see Gen 16:9-13 ^k; Judg 13:3 ^l, 6 ^m, 21-22 ⁿ).

• In the Bible, blazing fire often represents God’s transcendent holiness (see Exod 19:18 ^o; Gen 15:17 ^p; 1 Kgs 18:38-39 ^q; Isa 33:14 ^r).

• didn’t burn up: This may show that God does not wish to consume the vehicle that he sets ablaze for his purposes.
3:4 ^s Moses! Moses! God knows his people by name, and individuals are important to him.
3:5 ^t The soil around the bush was holy ground, while the soil on the bottom of Moses’ sandals was common. The common cannot touch the holy without being transformed or destroyed (see thematic note for Clean, Unclean, and Holy at end of chapter). At the outset of the Exodus, God was making it plain that he is absolutely “other” than his creation, a reality that cannot be overlooked in a proper divine-human relationship. The word holy occurs only a few times in the Bible prior to Exod 3:5 ^u. It now becomes the central descriptor of God in the Old Testament. In other Semitic languages, the same root occurs infrequently. It does not describe a moral quality in these other languages but simply what is “other than” human. The pagan gods, for instance, were “holy” only in the sense of being “other”—they did everything humans do, good and evil, but on a larger scale. In the Bible, by contrast, moral perfection is a central idea of the term holy. The one true God is the only being in the universe who truly stands apart from this world and is worthy of being called “holy” in this general sense. The true God is perfectly consistent and moral in his character. Here, at the burning bush, God revealed his otherness. Later at Sinai, he revealed his moral character in his requirements for those who would be his covenant partners (see Exod 19:6 ^v; 20:1–23:33 ^w; see also Lev 11:45 ^x; 1 Pet 1:13-16 ^y).
3:6 ^z This transcendent God had committed himself to Moses’ ancestors in a faithful promise maintained for hundreds of years. Moses was in awe of the one, holy, and transcendent God of Abraham. Jesus quoted this verse when he was sparring with the Sadducees about the concept of resurrection (Matt 22:32 ^aa; Mark 12:26 ^ab; Luke 20:37 ^ac).
3:7 ^ad The continued slavery and distress of Israel touched God’s heart.
3:8 ^ae God would not only rescue them but would take them to their own ... land that he had promised to Abraham (Gen 13:14-18 ^af).

• flowing with milk and honey: The land was agriculturally rich, with pasturage for cattle and crops with blooms from which bees could make honey.

• Canaanites ... Jebusites: The list of peoples who lived in Canaan indicates the importance of this strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert. As a vital crossroads for trade and communication between Egypt and the rest of the ancient Near East, it was a hotly contested prize. That Israel could end up in sole possession of it seemed an impossibility.
3:10 ^ag God would act compassionately to save his suffering people, but it would be through a human agency. Often God is known among us because of the way his people carry out his will.